


Dear Ma'

by Faeluria



Series: Tales of N’adana Vhet [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, Minor Character Death, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Teen!WoL
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faeluria/pseuds/Faeluria
Summary: All fifteen-year-old N'adana Vhet wants to do is become an adventurer, but does she get more than she bargained for when she decides to accept the offer to become a Scion of the Seventh Dawn?
Relationships: Scions of the Seventh Dawn & Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Series: Tales of N’adana Vhet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895053
Kudos: 8





	1. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N’adana Vhet leaves the only home she’s ever known.

“Ma, no, it’s fine – really!” N’adana sighed as her mother adjusted her armor, calloused fingers tugging on straps and tightening the laces of her boots. “It’s not like I’m going to be fighting right away, ‘ts just a boat ride!”

Her mother stood and smiled wistfully at her – an image she didn’t realize she would play over and over in her head in the nights when she missed home the most. Every time she thought about their goodbye, she remembered her mother’s green eyes that reflected her own. She remembered the bustle of the Limsa Lominsa decks, the murmur of the crowd drowned out as her mother doted over her only daughter. She remembered the salty air that made her homesick every time she caught a whiff of anything even remotely close. She remembered that in that moment, she was determined to make her mother proud.

“I know, I know, but let me ‘ave this.” Her mother leaned forward and brushed aside her copper bangs to kiss her forehead. “No daughter o’ mine is gonna show up in the shimmerin’ Ul’dah lookin’ a right mess, is she?”

N’adana chuckled softly, leaning into her mother’s comfort. “I’ll be back soon, aye? I’ll come back to you when I’m a right proper gladiator, just you see!”

“You’re already a proper gladiator in my eyes, Adana.” Her mother held back tears, not one to cry, especially in public. She didn’t want her daughter to leave her, but what else did she expect? Both her children had taken after their father, after all. She prayed to Azeyma every waking moment that she wouldn’t lose N’adana in the same way. As much as she hated to admit it, N’adana’s heart had been forged in fire, and her heart became a blade that she longed to use and protect, just as her father and brother did before her.

“Thanks, ma. Take care of yourself, alright?” The bell for the boat to Ul’dah rang, a gruff voice thick with Lominsan inflections let them know that it was almost time to leave.

Her mother pulled her in for a tight hug, stroking her unruly hair and burying her face in the top of her N’adana’s head. “I love you.” She sighed, the phrase holding so many meanings that she had already expressed in just three simple words. _Is there anything I can do to make you stay? Don’t get into trouble without me! I’m so proud of you. Please, don’t let me lose you, too._

“I love you too, ma’!” The final call for her boat rang, the young miqo’te pulled back and hesitantly ran off towards the ramp. “Remember to lock the back door when you go out, and remember to give Milo his nightly treats!”

“That’s why he’s so damned fat!” Her mother called back with a smile, waving to her heart as she disappeared up the ramp, returning only a moment later, her small frame pushing passed the other passengers, to lean over the banister and wave down at her again. N’adana’s mother watched the boat until it was out of sight, her arms crossed over her chest as the sea breeze comforted her in the midday sun.

She didn’t let herself cry until she returned home. It was quiet, except for the chirp of a speckled tabby that curled up in her lap and purred when she sat at the empty, worn table by the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the first little scene that starts N’adana’s journey! I’ll add more soon (hopefully), with the semester starting I might slow down just as fast as I started. I have a lot written already but it’s all out-of-order and needs to be edited, and is mostly ShB content, so I need to fill in some gaps before I can post. I’ll add more tags as I go and things are added along and changed!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! <3


	2. Dear Ma’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N’adana has a heart-to-heart with the adventurer’s guildmaster of Ul’dah, Momondi.

_“Don’t you think you’re a little young for this, kid?”_

N’adana heard it from every mouth she spoke to after setting foot in Ul’dah. Every time she mentioned to someone about how she was an adventurer or what have you, she’d get the same lecture from anyone that heard her. She stopped trying to explain herself after the twentieth time, and every subsequent question about her age was answered with a shrug.

Luckily, she didn’t get the same hesitance from Momondi when she arrived to sign up for the Adventurer’s Guild. The lalafell was so used to introducing adventurers left and right that she didn’t even blink when she let N’adana put her name on the roster.

It wasn’t until the girl had returned from her third or fourth job, however, that Momondi tilted her chin towards to miqo’te and asked how old she was. “Fifteen,” N’adana replied sheepishly, as if she had been caught up in a lie. She was almost afraid she would have to repeat herself over the dull roar of voices in the packed Quicksand, but Momondi hummed in acknowledgement before she could speak up again.

“Aren’t you a little young to be out adventurin’, kid?” Momondi raised a brow at the miqo’te, cleaning a glass behind the counter she was always stationed at.

N’adana sighed at the familiar question, hoping she wouldn’t have to hear it from her guildmaster. “You’re not going to kick me out of the guild, are you? ‘Cause I’m too young?” She asked nervously, tapping her fingers against the mug of water she had asked from the barkeep (who wouldn’t have given her anything else even if she tried).

Momondi hesitated for a moment, putting the glass down on the wooden countertop with a faint _clink._ “I’m sure you’ve heard it all from your parents, kid. If they let you come all the way from Limsa, I’m sure you can make your way around here. You’ve proven yourself so far – don’t see why that’ll change any time soon.”

N’adana’s ears flattened as a twinge of guilt settled in the pit of her stomach, “My ma’ doesn’t know I joined the guild…” she admitted quietly. The miqo’te went on to explain that her mother had only agreed to let her travel so far because she was under the impression that she was _strictly_ training with the gladiator’s guild.

“Just your mother, hm? Well… you _are_ studying with them, as I recall. You’re simply getting in some extra practice.” Momondi offered a sly grin towards N’adana as she tapped her temple with tiny fingers.

N’adana nodded in agreement, chuckling quietly at the idea of justifying it all to her mother. “As much as I want all the glory as the famed ‘Warriors of Light,’ – I really just want to make her proud, you know? She’s taken care of me all by herself for years now,” N’adana smiled, “It’s time I start taking care of her.”

“I’m sure you’ve already made her plenty proud, little N’adana.” Momondi leaned over the counter to pat the miqo’te’s hand, and all she could offer in thanks for her kind words was another smile before another adventurer came strolling up and commanded Momondi’s attention.

N’adana wrote her mother a letter before bed that night, eagerly tucking it in an envelope and setting it on her desk to be sent out in the morning, along with a package that she wrapped up with bundle of Ul’dahn spices and a sack of gil that she had made during her first few adventuring jobs.

_“Dear ma,_

_You’ll never guess what I’ve been up to since I left home…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another baby chapter! I’m putting out smaller bits that give N’adana a little bit of backstory - pretty transparent stuff, but I think a little naive adventurer would be super transparent with talking about herself. Also makes for a really easy way for a kid to get in trouble. (,:


	3. The Waking Sands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N’adana finally earns the title of “Scion of the Seventh Dawn,” all the while making a home in their headquarters, the Waking Sands.

N’adana pushed open the heavy wooden doors to what she hoped was the Waking Sands, her ears twitching as she was greeted by soft singing. The lovely voice, slightly off-key but warm and inviting, was coming from a bright little lalafell who startled when she heard the shuffling of N’adana’s heavy, mismatched armor.

“Oh!” Her sweet demeanor turned cold, her eyebrows knitting as she leveled her tone with the young miqo’te, “I would thank you not to sneak up on me like that! Now, please be advised that this is private property. Unless you have pertinent business here, I must ask you to-“

N’adana’s ears twitched again, though this time with anxiousness. “Thancred sent me.” She managed, though more forcefully than she intended.

Before she could amend her rudeness, however, the lalafell’s posture quickly relaxed at the mention of the roguish man who insisted she come here. She profusely apologized, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment at the callousness of her initial greeting. N’adana had been put off by her quick change of tune – suspicious, perhaps – but would soon find out that the little lalafell, who she would come to know as Tataru Taru, would have said or done anything to protect her beloved Scions.

N’adana had been lucky she was not Tataru’s enemy that day.

“May I please have your name?”

“N’adana Vhet.” She introduced herself, offering a nervous smile to the receptionist. She looked around the room as the woman searched for her name in the registry, glancing around at the entryway that felt unfamiliar and cold compared to the heat of Thanalan she had traveled in to get there.

The lalafell directed her down the stairs and into the Waking Sands proper. It was even cooler as she descended, entirely underground and nestled under rock and sand. The limited candlelight made it feel dark and foreboding, and for a moment she wondered whether or not this was a good idea.

She was eventually led to a large set of grand, wooden doors. “Right this way,” Tataru had chirped excitedly, opening it as if it wasn’t as heavy as it looked. She was led into a large office space – the Solar, she recalled Tataru calling it – where she met Minfilia Warde. N’adana was intimidated by her at first – after all, she was a beautiful, tall Hyur woman that spoke with confidence and authority and kindness all at once. She wouldn’t have struck her for a leader if it wasn’t for the way she held herself and patiently spoke with N’adana, even when she didn’t understand what she was talking about exactly. She taught her about the Echo and offered a gentle hand of guidance, her presence unassuming for an Antecedent but warm and reassuring all the same.

Minfilia introduced N’adana to the other Scions of the Seventh Dawn, who funneled into the room one by one. It was a lofty title to be offered in return, but being a kid who hadn’t come down from the high of having dinner with the Sultana and the Bull of Ala Mhigo themselves, she felt a bit cocky about being offered the same formality. She recalled how they all greeted her, introducing themselves as she committed their names to her memory.

_Thancred. Urianger. Papalymo. Yda. Y’shtola._

They were all taken back at first. Thancred had mentioned a capable adventurer, but they never expected a _child._ She had barely lived fifteen summers, but she already held the status of an adventurer who had been traveling for years. Her confidence amused Thancred and annoyed Papalymo, but she was determined to prove her worth, just as she proved it to every damned asshole that told her otherwise.

And so, N’adana Vhet had become _N’adana Vhet, Scion of the Seventh Dawn._

She left the Waking Sands and came back again, repeating this journey over and over until it had felt like returning home. The stone walls that once made her anxious instead made her feel safe, a place to escape the world outside that increasingly seemed to be after her. It was the place she went after she slayed her first primal, a new scar running across the bridge of her nose as a permanent reminder of the accomplishment. It’s the place where she spent countless days and nights, writing letters home when she couldn’t make it back to Limsa Lominsa, drinking tea with Tataru while she finished her paperwork for the night, giggling over her lunch as she listened to Yda and Papalymo bicker from across the table, and chatting with Y’shtola about what it was like to grow up in Sharlayan and how on Eorzea did she ever get her hair looking so soft.

One evening, N’adana overheard Thancred comment to Minfilia through the cracked door of the Solar about how the young Primal-Slayer had charmed the Scions wholeheartedly. It hadn’t been long, Minfilia mused in return, but she simply couldn’t imagine the Waking Sands without her presence, running about in the mornings and listening to the soft clanging of her sword as she practiced before midday. It wasn’t long after that Tataru managed to set aside N’adana’s very own bed – it was small and off in a corner, as there wasn’t much space, but she appreciated it all the same. It wasn’t long before she had decorated the space with little gifts and trinkets that she had picked up along her adventures. She would lie in bed at night, comforted by the warmth of the blankets Tataru had bought for her in the loveliest shade of orange, which she had not-so-subtly deduced was N’adana’s favorite color. She would sit up in bed in that same blanket wrapped around her shoulders, sloppily writing a letter to her mother with the parchment pressed against her leg.

_“Dear Ma’,_

_I know you always used to apologize about being the only family I had left. I never minded that, since you’re wonderful enough to count for three or four family members, which is practically an entire family already! However, I’d like to tell you about the family I’ve made, too. The Scions treat me so well, and I’m certain you’d love all of them._

_Tataru is our receptionist and makes ~~the best~~ soup (not as good as your’s of course) that has popotoes and vegetables in it – I never thought I’d want to eat so many vegetables! Minfilia is the Antecedent, and she’s so nice and lovely. I told her about your cinnamon buns and I promised I would bring her some the next time I came home. Y’shtola and I stay up late at night and eat snacks together while I polish my armor and she reads all sorts of books about magic and aether. Thancred, (he’s the man I told you about before, from Ul’dah), tells the best jokes ~~and lets me try his alcohol~~ and the funniest stories. Yda and Papalymo are practically attached at the hip, which is hilarious because they’re so different. Yda is a good training partner, and Papalymo is patient with me when he tries to explain things. Urianger is patient, too, but it’s hard to understand how he talks sometimes (I’m getting better at it, though)! Sometimes I wish that I had more people around that were my age, but I’m grateful for the Scions, because they make me feel less alone and less weird about being this big hero all the sudden._

_My last package had a little extra gil in it – I’d love if you came to Vesper Bay to meet all of them. I wish I could bring them all to meet you and Milo but as Urianger said once: ‘doth no rest for the righteous.’_

_Your Primal-Slaying Daughter,_

_Adana “_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some wholesome Waking Sands content! After this chapter will be when it picks up, since this is probably just before the twins pop up and all the absolutely heartbreaking stuff that happens at the end of ARR. Being framed for an assassination probably isn’t the best for a 15-year-old but *shrugs.*


	4. All Good Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N'adana finally finds an opportunity to introduce her mother to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, but nothing goes as planned and she's left floundering.
> 
> This chapter includes in-game dialogue that belongs to Square Enix.

N’adana waited as the world came back into focus, blinking in the details of the cavern she was in as the dull quiet settled around her. Titan was defeated, and with that, another mysterious crystal in her possession. She didn’t have long to ponder it before she spotted Y’shtola approaching her. “I feared I might arrive to late, but I see you had the matter well in hand,” she smiled at the young warrior.

“I guess you could say that.” N’adana smiled weakly, covered in dirt and grime and sweat but otherwise relatively unharmed. Getting thrown around by a giant rock primal was certainly going to leave her sore in the morning, however.

“I have taken measures to ensure that we are not pursued, yet I cannot say how long they will hold.” Y’shtola cut right to the point, and to be fair, N’adana didn’t want to stay in this cavern longer than she had to anyways. “Take your leave while the kobolds are still in disarray. I will follow anon. There is something I must investigate before I depart.” Her gaze shot towards the cliff, but before N’adana could ask what she meant, she was already being teleported away so that they could rendezvous at Camp Bronze Lake.

N’adana was too tired from the fight to argue, so she simply let the aether carry her away before she materialized some malms away from the home of the kobolds. The travel wasn’t too far, so the aether travel didn’t make her quite as sick as it usually did, but between her weakened state and the lack of preparedness, she needed to take a few moments leaned a nearby tree to ease her nausea before she continued on. _It gives Y’shtola plenty of time to catch up. I wonder what she needed to investigate?_

 _Probably aether stuff,_ N’adana concluded. The Scions always tried to explain it to her, and she was notoriously deft at understanding anything magic-related, so maybe Y’shtola had finally caught on and simply not worried her with whatever it was she was suspicious about. The miqo’te pulled out her linkpearl and contacted Minfilia, chatting while she walked and updating the Antecedent on what had happened during her battle with Titan. _“We’ll be awaiting your return at the Waking Sands. There is much to discuss. Godspeed.”_ _Click._

She had managed to beat Y’shtola to Camp Bronze Lake only by mere moments, shoving her linkpearl back into her pockets as she approached the central aetheryte. Y’shtola didn’t give any indication as to what she had found, which N’adana took as something she didn’t need to worry about. “It would be wise to report to Maelstrom Command about your victory against Titan before returning to the Waking Sands,” Y’shtola suggested, adding with a soft smile, “plus, it shall give you some time to clean up and visit your mother.”

“That sounds _lovely,_ though I don’t know if I’ll get all this dirt out in one go.” N’adana huffed, walking herself over to the aetheryte before turning back towards Y’shtola. “Do you think the Scions would mind if I brought her along? She’s been dying to meet all of you.”

“I see no problems with the idea at present, considering Titan is taken care of. I am sure we are all as excited to meet our Warrior’s mother as she is us.” Y’shtola nodded, watching N’adana return an excited smile before placing her hand on the aetheryte and dissipating into the air.

* * *

“Goodness, what did you _do_ to get your hair so awfully dirty?” N’adana’s mother interrogated her as her fingers vigorously scrubbed through her daughter’s scalp.

“I fought a godsdamned _primal,_ ma’!” N’adana giggled, trying to let her muscles relax in the warmth of the water, but it was hard considering that she could practically feel the skin being pulled from her head. Her mother had diligently drawing a bath for her and insisted she relax as soon as she walked through the door, which N’adana was not going to complain about in the slightest. She updated her mother on all the adventures she had gone on since they last saw each other, from slaying primals and befriending sylphs to her quest to catch Urianger with his hood down.

Her mother became quiet after a while, and N’adana turned her head back to glance at her. “Ma’?”

She seemed to snap out of her thoughts then. “I’m just worried about you, that’s all, sweetheart.” Her mother smiled sadly at her, green eyes locking onto her daughter and confirming that she was _alive._ She was her primal-slaying hero of Eorzea, and she was still _breathing and here, right in front of her._

“I know…” N’adana lowered her gaze, staring at herself in the distorted reflection of her bath water, “but no one else can do it. I can’t be tempered by primals, and I can’t let anyone else risk it when I’m right here with this immunity. They lose themselves when it happens, and I can’t…”

N’adana’s mother squeezed her shoulder, “I know, I know. I’m _so_ proud of you, Adana. I can’t tell ya’ how absolutely, entirely proud of you I am.”

“That’s all I can ask for, ma’.”

N’adana drained the tub, letting her mother bustle around their small apartment and cook dinner for her while she put on fresh clothes. She knew that her mother felt guilty that she couldn’t protect her, so she let her have this. N’adana would never let her mother adventure with her – not in a million years – so she settled with letting herself being taken care of, just for a few hours. She wiped down her armor while dinner finished cooking, which was made harder by notoriously affectionate cat Milo. He rubbed up against her arm and eventually settled with curling up in her lap, which made her have to lean forward over him to polish her breastplate of any blood it had accrued during battle.

“Hey ma’?” N’adana looked up from the kitchen table, finding her mother hovered over the stove and humming quietly to herself as she cooked.

“Hm?”

“Would you want to come back with me to Vesper Bay? It’s just a thought, I know you’ve mentioned wanting to meet the Scions-“

Her mother gave her a smile wider than the distance between Limsa and Thanalan. “Of course! I would ‘ave visited myself if I knew when you wouldn’t be so busy.”

N’adana returned her eager smile, “Good! I’m heading out after dinner, since I need to be back to give my report. We can leave some food out for Milo and you can be back by tomorrow afternoon?”

The two agreed on the plan, enjoying dinner happily in each other’s company while Milo attempted to climb onto the table to eat dinner with them. N’adana’s mother finished her dinner first, getting up and changing her clothes while the Warrior of Light got to savor her food just a little longer. She took the time to relax, forgetting about primals and crystals and responsibilities as she sank into the warm feeling of being home.

Once they were both ready, N’adana slung her travel pack over her shoulder and strapped her sword back onto her hip. She wore her armor again but kept her helmet tucked squarely under her arm, making sure her mother remembered to lock the door behind them before heading to the docks.

“Good ta’ see ya’, Miss Vhet.”

“Afternoon, Rhetkympf!” she flashed a smile to the ferry ticketer as she paid him his due gil.

A few moments later, they were swept onto the ferry and left the port of Limsa Lominsa. N’adana rested her head against her mother’s shoulder during the ride, taking a well-deserved nap before getting back to what she assumed was going to be a long night of celebration.

* * *

N’adana pushed open the unlocked doors of the Waking Sands, the cool air from inside hitting her face as she held open the door for her mother. “Tataru, I brought I guest-“ She stopped in her tracks, looking around for Tataru but not spying her anywhere in the entry room. Papers were scattered across the table and the lanterns were burning dim, despite the fact that she wouldn’t have been gone from her post for long. She hadn’t even left anyone up here to watch the door, which she usually did if she was going to be away for a period of time. She _always_ made sure someone was watching the door, and if not, it was locked up tight. _Something’s wrong._

“Uh… ma’? Stay here.” N’adana hesitated, chewing her lip as she thought of quick excuse to leave her behind as she locked the heavy wooden doors behind them. “I’ll go check and see if everyone is downstairs, usually Tataru is up here.” She leveled her breath, but she couldn’t convince herself that was the case. They were expecting her – _Tataru_ _would have been here to greet her._

“Why don’t I just come with you-“

 _“No._ _Stay here.”_ N’adana barked at her mother, a harshness creeping into her voice that she didn’t expect. Her mother flinched, but the Warrior of Light couldn’t apologize right now.

She walked down the stairs, her boots quiet against the smoothed stone. She kept one hand firmly on the hilt of her sword as she opened the door, and the metallic smell of blood hit her in the face as soon as the draft left the room. Her eyes scanned the hallway as the door shut behind her, and suddenly her gaze narrowed so that she could only see the bodies strewn across the floor of the Waking Sands. The floor was covered in puddles of blood, pooling around the cracks in the stone tile like veins.

 _“Tataru?”_ she tried to call out, but her voice barely carried down the hall. _“Minfilia? Urianger, I-“_

Her legs were shaky, but she found herself running down the hall towards the Solar. She tried to identify any of the bodies she was stepping over, but she couldn’t think straight as trailed blood from the bottom of her boots across carpet and stone. The short walk from the entrance to the door of the Solar felt like malms, but eventually she made it with shaky breaths and trembling hands.

_Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please-_

N’adana entered the darkened Solar, panicking as her eyes adjusted and she scanned the room for her friends. The only one in the Solar was Noraxia, who’s body laid on the floor in the middle of the room. The warrior rushed forward, falling to her knees next to the Sylph, who was battered and bruised and barely hanging on to life.

“This one is glad… walking one is safe…” Noraxia managed, the voice that usually sounded like windchimes instead coming out like broken violin strings. Before N’adana could question them, however, her head throbbed and her vision went black as her Echo took over her mind and forced her to watch exactly what had happened to her friends.

> _“Thank heavens she is safe,” Minfilia had said after she had gotten off the linkpearl with N’adana and turned towards Noraxia, then to the broken staff that perpetually hung behind the wall of Minfilia’s desk. “Louisoux, do you see? Your light shines brightly in this one. And in time, it will illuminate the realm once more-“_
> 
> _“Advance no further!” another voice called from the other side of the door, and suddenly N’adana’s vision shifted to outside the Solar, watching the Scions that guarded the doors be slaughtered by Imperials. A woman in white advanced and demanded the primal-slayer, speaking of mercy if the warrior was given up. If she were there, maybe she could have saved them._
> 
> _She watched Minfilia hide Noraxia and surrender herself in return to spare the others left in the Waking Sands. Ever the martyr, it seemed, but it did nothing. The sylph sprung from behind the desk to protect the Antecedent, only to be brutally kicked aside by the imperial in white. N’adana could hear bones cracking with perfect clarity through the Echo. They took Minfilia away as prisoner, vowed to torture her for her gift._

N’adana groaned as her vision cleared again, trying to blink the headache away as she moved to clutch Noraxia’s tiny, fragile hands. The sylph was trying so hard to form words, insisting that they needed to tell N’adana something – from Minfilia. “A church in eastern Thanalan… walking one must claim sanctuary…” Their grasp on N’adana’s hands weakened and slipped out of her fingers. “This one _tried…_ tried to protect Waking one Minfilia f-from imperial ones…” Noraxia begged for forgiveness with their final breath, all the muscles in their body going limp before N’adana had the chance to do what she asked.

Her head throbbed weakly against her forehead as she tried to process what was going on. Before she even realized what she was doing, she stood back up and managed to find her way back upstairs, stepping over bodies and tracking even more blood through the Waking Sands. N’adana’s mother stood up from the chair she had seated herself at and ran over to N’adana, who had tracked traces of blood up the staircase.

“Adana? Adana, what-“

The young miqo’te walked over to the table and picked up a quill, frantically scribbling words on a piece of loose parchment before folding it and handing it to her mother. “I need you,” she breathed, her voice shaken as she used every ilm of control in her body to keep herself from crying, “to take this to Maelstrom Command. Make sure they know it’s urgent, and that it’s from the Scions of the Seventh Dawn – from _me.”_

Her mother blinked, “What happened?"

“They’re gone, ma’. It’s all my fault.”

“Adana, please tell me more than-"

 _“I can't!_ Just, go home, ma'. I can't be putting you in danger, too."

Her mother gasped, tears threatening to spill over as she spoke. “You would never put me in danger, sweetheart..."

“But I am, right now! You being here is - just, you have to _go... please."_

N’adana watched her mother hesitate before leaving the Waking Sands, letter clutched in her hands as she unlocked the heavy door and let it shut behind her.

She locked the door again before heading back downstairs, her body numb as she found her little corner that held her trinkets and belongings. She took the neatly folded blanket from the bottom of her bed, which always magically ended up clean and pressed every time she returned, and took it to the Solar. She knelt before Noraxia’s corpse, picking it up gently and lying it out on the sunrise-colored blanket that Tataru gifted to her. N’adana folded their corpse gently into the blanket, lying them back down on the ground before curling up on the blood-stained carpet and resting her back against the front of Minfilia’s desk.

 _What an idiot I am. If I was just here instead of indulging myself, they could have taken me and left. I should have come straight here. I could have brought my ma’ into a bloothbath, for gods sake. If I lost her, too…_ She finally the dam of emotions release from her chest, sobbing into her gloved hands as her wails echoed off the stone walls of the Waking Sands.

N’adana had no clue how long she had cried, but at some point her tears subsided and she was hit with an overwhelming sense of clarity. “I _have_ to handle this,” her trembling voice rose in the silent room, talking to no one but herself. The young miqo’te’s gaze fell towards the bundle of orange blankets in the middle of the Solar. “I won’t let you die in vain, Noraxia. I promise.”

* * *

N’adana wasn’t sure how long it took her to travel to the Church of Saint Adama Landama, but the sun was almost done setting by the time she found herself at the bottom of the hill. She had decided to take a chocoobo port, which saved her some time, but it left her terribly alone with her thoughts without anything to do but sit and let her thighs slowly chafe.

She had come to the conclusion that she was wholeheartedly, undeniably guilty of the attack on the Waking Sands. The Imperials were there for _her,_ and because she wasn’t there to protect them or offer herself up, people died. She let herself relax for an hour and people _died_ for it! She was the gods damned Warrior of Light, and where did that get her?!

Alone, in the front of a church, in the middle of gods forsaken Thanalan.

N’adana passed through the headstones that littered the hill and found herself at the door, which she pushed open and shuffled inside. Her boots were heavy against the old wood, and she must have looked like a right mess considering the look the man at the altar gave her when he turned around.

“Is something troubling you, my child?” The old man asked gently, stepping down from the central altar to approach her. N’adana lowered her gaze, shoulders slumped in defeat. What does she even say? If Minfilia wanted her to come specifically to this church, then…

“The _wild roses_ are dead, and I…” Her voice broke, covering her mouth with her hand as she tried to stifle her cries. She had been fine the past few hours, but the little bit of thread holding her together unraveled once again when she tried to speak. _“I don’t know what to do.”_

The man’s eyes widened with recognition before gently touching her shoulder and guiding her to sit down, which she couldn’t even fight anymore as her shaky legs let her collapse on the nearest pew. He quietly sat next to her for the next few moments, letting her calm herself before he spoke again. “You may speak freely here, we are friends of the Scions.”

N’adana eventually found herself void of tears again, taking her gloves off to wipe her eyes as she tried to steady her breathing. “T-thank you. I’m sorry, some kind of primal-slayer I am walking in and sobbing on you like that.”

The man hushed her gently, “Your deeds are great, but you are still merely a child. Let yourself cry, or you will lose the passion that makes you such a great hero.” His presence was reassuring and warm, and N’adana felt herself relaxing slightly into the old wooden bench.

“Some great hero I am. I let them die, I…” N’adana stopped herself before she could cry again, pressing her lips together in a tight line to make sure it didn’t happen again.

He offered a sad smile, standing and returning a moment later with a slice of bread and a cup of water. “Just stay and rest, child. I am sure your friends would want to see you rested and whole for the trials yet to come.”

N’adana nodded in defeat, taking the offering from the Father and forcing herself to eat something. “What’s your name?” She croaked through bites of bread.

“Father Iliud. And your’s, little warrior?”

“N’adana Vhet.” She managed the smallest smile.

He let her finish her humble snack as he prepared a place for her to sleep. It wasn’t much, but she expressed her thanks and began unstrapping her armor. She winced at the sight of dried blood on her gloves and boots, tossing them underneath the bed so she didn’t have to see them anymore. Once her armor was piled on the floor, she was left in a cotton shirt and trousers, which she eagerly held close against her nose as she curled up under the blankets, the scent of her mother’s laundry soap pushing her down into a sleep that drifted her into a dreamless sleep.

Unfortunately, the following nights would not be so easy.

N’adana managed to wake up with the sun, a weight on her chest as she forced herself to stand and get dressed. She elected to ignore the blood on her boots, for now, knowing full well the task Father Iliud had given her the night before. _Return to the Waking Sands so that we may give the fallen Scions a proper burial._

And so she set off, renting a chocoobo from the nearby Camp Drybone and heading back to Vesper Bay. Her stomach churned anxiously the entire journey, and at one point she needed to pull aside and puke up her breakfast on the side of the road before continuing on. _I have to do this,_ she told herself as she got back on her chocoobo.

She made it to Vesper Bay just before noon, which was apparent by the beating sun on the back of her neck. The breeze from the ocean kept her from simmering too much and the salty air kept her nerves calm as she approached the Waking Sands. She was met by a man that was sent ahead earlier that morning who would provide a cart to transport the bodies of her fallen comrades.

“I’ll start… bringing them out.” N’adana muttered, turning towards the door and pulling out the key she had taken from Tataru’s desk the day prior. She had swiped it when she left, refusing to leave the door unlocked when the bodies of Scions rested inside.

Her chest tightened as she walked down the stairs, the day before playing in her head again as she remembered the beating of her heart and the stench of blood when she opened the door. She hesitated as her hand grabbed the door, taking a breath and resting her forehead against the cool wood as she tried to control the mounting uneasiness and nausea she felt in her core. The feeling lasted for what felt like eternity, but when it subsided again, she steadied her breathing and pulled open the door.

The smell was _much_ worse than before. She was lucky she had thrown up beforehand.

N’adana got to work taking the bodies upstairs and outside to the man who was waiting, going back and forth with body after body until eventually all of the Scions in the main hall were taken from the place of their last breaths. _Only one left,_ she told herself, but she hesitated once more. She ran over to her own little corner and rifled through the basket of trinkets beside her bed, plucking a dried flower from a book she stored it in for safekeeping. It was a pretty thing, she remembered – somehow pink or yellow depending on the way the light hit it, with a countless number of petals that curved up just-so. She wasn’t sure what kind it was, but she had plucked it just outside the Sylphlands and tucked it away for safekeeping.

She took the flower and found her way back to the Solar, opening the door and approaching the bundle of orange blankets she had left in the center of the room. It felt much harder approaching Noraxia’s body, despite them being completely covered and out of sight. It was the fact that _she_ watched them die and _she_ wrapped them in that blanket that made her give pause, hesitating for a moment before kneeling down and tucking the flower gently in the folds of the blanket before picking the bundle up.

She brought Noraxia outside and handed her to the man, his eyes widening in surprise to see that N’adana had already put so much care into this one. “She was a Sylph – a friend,” she answered before he could ask, “the last one. We should head back now.”

N’adana aided the Church with each of the Scion’s burials, sitting on the ground next to each of their freshly buried graves and saying something to each of them before moving on. She didn’t know many of them, but she managed something, whether it be thanking them for the way they smiled at her when she walked into the Solar or the ways that they fought valiantly.

“This one… they were a Sylph. We believe that they should be given the proper rites, which is something we cannot provide.” Sister Eluned had said, handing N’adana the bundle of orange fabric gently.

“Thank you for being so considerate with them.” She smiled sadly, and with that, she set off to deliver Noraxia home.

* * *

“We must thank walking one for being so kind to these ones,” the Sylphs who took Noraxia’s body had told her, politely allowing N’adana to stay in Little Solace for a few hours while they buried Noraxia. She watched quietly as they mourned, but she made sure to let them know how brave Noraxia was before they died – how they had held on to deliver a message and how grateful she was for that.

"I didn't know them for very long, but I'll never forget Noraxia. Thank you again for burying them." N'adana had held the tiny sylph's hands, offering the gentlest, comforting squeeze she could muster. 

She left Little Solace after Noraxia was laid to rest, the sounds of the Sylphs mournful singing and vengeful whispers against the Imperials behind her. She found the nearest aetheryte and materialized in Camp Drybone. She was already tired and weak from the day’s events, so she barely hesitated before she stumbled towards the church and forced her aether sickness down in favor of asking Sister Eluned if there was anything else that needed to be done. “No, child. The last Scion has been laid to rest, so you must get some as well. You have done so much for your fallen brothers and sisters already.”

N’adana nodded solemnly, returning to the church and collapsing in bed after haphazardly pulling off her armor. However, despite her desperate want for sleep, she tossed and turned for hours, plagued with nightmares that didn’t let her drift off for more than an hour or two at a time. By the time the sun rose again, she felt as if she didn’t rest at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew this one got long! We finally have some plot stuff - I hope the pacing's alright. This one took me off on a whole tangent and I might rework the format in which I sort my fics - I might split them up separately into expansions, this one being ARR. Then I might skip around because I'm really eager to do Shadowbringers, but we'll see where more writing takes me!
> 
> EDIT; I've been participating in the FFXIVWrite challenge so that's been my focus for September (as well as school hhh) but I have some things started for the next chapter and I should be picking it back up once the month is over. <3


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